It was yet another slow weekend at the US box office, allowing Resident Evil Retribution to top the chart with a decent but not particularly amazing $21 million. That’s lower than the previous three films, although slightly higher than the original (but if inflation and 3D premiums are taken into account, it sold fewer tickets). However as it grossed around $60 million in international territories, it’s still going to be judged a success and makes Resident Evil 6 more likely.

The only other new entry in the top 10 (or technically re-entry) was the 3D re-issue of Finding Nemo, which took $17 million to place second on the chart. It’s less than what The Lion King took when it got an extra dimension, but about on par with Beauty & The Beast.

However it was outside the top 10 that the most interesting news happened. The Master only made it to number 18 on the list, but its $730,000 in only five cinemas is the highest per average screen take ever for a live action movie with $146,000 per screen (topping Moonrise Kingdom’s $130,000 earlier this year). It bodes very well for its expansion onto 600 screens this Friday.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10, for the weekend of September 14th-16th 2012.

There’ll be some glum faced in Hollywood this week, with news that on the international market, box office is down about 20% compared to where it was this time last year (that’s more than a billion dollars less), and the US has seen its worse weekend for years. It’s the first time since 2008 that a movie has managed to hit the top spot with less than $10 million, with some sources suggesting that overall it’s the worst three-day total since 2001.

The Possession stayed top of the chart with just $9.5 million. The movie is doing okay for a mid-range horror flick, but on a normal weekend it would be at fourth or fifth place on the chart, rather than top.

Things weren’t helped by the new openers tanking badly, with the Bradley Cooper and Rober De Niro drama/thriller The Words taking just five million – which on many weekends wouln’t even put it in the top 10, but actually made it to number three.

The Cold Light Of Day truly flopped, taking just $1.8 million to place 13th. To be honest, that’s probably oddly good news for its star, Henry Cavill, as it means most people will have forgotten about its existence by the time Man Of Steel flies into cinemas next year.

Although early September is always a slack time as Hollywood transitions from their summer to autumn releases, but the weakness at the box office is pretty dreadful at the moment. Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend September 7th-9th.

Normally holiday weekends are when studios roll out some of their biggest movies, but Labor Day is pretty much the stepchild of these occasions, as the fact some States don’t recognise it and that it comes just before kids go back to school, mean it isn’t seen as a good time to bring out big movies.

It means that The Possession, which took $21.3 million over the four-day weekend, is the second-biggest Labor Day total ever. It’s an okay but not stunning start for the Sam Raimi produced horror movie, but as mentioned, it’s good for a Labor Day weekend.

The only other new opener in the top 10 was Lawless, which took second spot with $13.0 million over the weekend, and $15 million since it opened in the middle of last week. It’s not a particularly brilliant start considering the cast (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy etc.) and good reviews, but period movies often have difficulty getting a foothold. However if word of mouth is good, it’ll hopefully hold up over the coming weeks.

Perhaps the biggest box office news came at the other end of the chart, where the children’s movie Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure (a Tweenies/Teletubbies style endeavour with people in big foam suits), earned an abysmal $445,000. That’s the worst opening ever for a movie opening on over 2,000 screens, and the second worst per screen average ever for a nationwide release. It’s been estimated that on average, there were less than two people per screening.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 31st-September 3rd.

There’s been little cheer at the US box office, due to what was easily the lowest grossing weekend of 2012 so far. The problem was that the holdovers weren’t that strong, while the new entries barely made a dent. The Expendables 2 stayed top of the list with $13.5 million, a 53% drop on its first weekend takings, so that it’s now noticeably trailing the take of the first film in the franchise.

The top new entry could only place seventh on the list, with the Joseph Gordon Levitt action flick Premium Rush taking just $6.3 million. It’s a very weak start and some are blaming a rather lacklustre marketing campaign, as the film has had pretty good reviews and many believe that with the right push it could have done a lot better.

After expanding onto 1,091 screens, the documentary 2016 Obama’s America made its first appearance in the top 10 in eighth place, taking $6.2 million. It’s now the highest grossing documentary of the year and the highest ever for a political doc that takes a conservative viewpoint – in case you were wondering, the film doesn’t think America will be in a good place in 2016 if Obama gets elected for a second term.

The only other new entry in the top 10 is the Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Bradley Cooper comedy Hit & Run, which took a lowly $4.6 million. The only redeeming factor for that is that it’s believed it only cost a couple of million to make. And while horror is normally seen as a fairly sure thing at the box office, The Apparition couldn’t even make it into a very weak top 10, placing 12th with a lowly $2.9 million.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 24th-26th.

As expected The Expendables 2 topped the US box office over the weekend with $28.7 million, slightly below the $34 million the first movie made in 2010. Although it means the movie is still likely to turn a profit, with diminishing returns on the franchise already, it may put a spanner in the works of the already planned Expendables 3.

The action film was one of several new movies coming out now the Olympics have ended. The next highest new entry was Paranorman, which placed third on the chart with $14 million. That’s about in line with several other recent stop-motion efforts, which seems to be a subgenre that finds it difficult to appeal to a wide audience.

The musical Sparkle, starring Whitney Houston, made $12 million on its opening, which isn’t a huge amount but it considered okay for a movie that wasn’t strongly marketed. The final new entry was the long delayed The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, which made $10.9 million. Disney isn’t likely to be too happy about that, even if they have long seemed unsure what to do with the movie, starting the marketing for it a year ago, but never building much momentum.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 17th-19th.

I’m presuming the background of this new Expendables 2 poster is proof that if there’s too much testosterone in the air, things get explosive. As with the first film, it’s sure selling itself on the line-up of action stars and their general manliness.

This time around, The Expendables are reunited when Mr. Church enlists them to take on a seemingly simple job. When things go wrong, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory, where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time – five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary they seek revenge from. It hits cinemas on August 17th. (Poster via Yahoo!)

If you thought the action crew in The Expendables was good, The Expendables 2 plans to blow it out of the water, and the new trailer is here to prove it. Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) are back – alongside new members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) – are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time – six tons of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. The film’s out August 17th.

Are you excited about The Expendables 2? If not, Lionsgate is hoping this set of 12 character posters will get you buzzing. The movie stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It opens August 17th.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way…’

To be honest, this is less a trailer a more a list of people appearing in the movie, but that’s half the fun of the nostalgia trip that is the The Expendables. So if you’re interested in seeing who’s back for the sequel, take a look at the trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Lee Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard – are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time – six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way.’ It’ll be in cinemas August, 2012.

It’s a poster that pretty much speaks for itself, and just assures us that shit loads of top action people are going to be in The Expendables 2 (or Ex2 as the poster would like us to call it). It’s definitely going for the style of a late-80s/early-90s movie, which is exactly what people are hoping the film will be. The Expendable 2 hits cinemas next sumer and stars Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Image via JoBlo)